Thursday 10 May 2018

Review: The Midnight Line

The Midnight Line The Midnight Line by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read a couple of Jack Reacher books. But don't actively seek them out. Generally I enjoy them. Short sentences. Short chapters. But not a short protagonist! (That's the movie version - try not to think of Tom Cruise!) Entertaining.

I started reading Midnight Line in a hotel lobby. I was sufficiently intrigued to want to know where the story went but not engrossed enough to actually spend money to buy the book. Thankfully, my local library came to the rescue and I was able borrow it to find out what happened. I'm glad I finished it because it turned out to be about something slightly different than I expected. I like trying to out-guess authors, but I enjoy it when they do something different in an interesting way.

From the other Jack Reacher books I've read, there were a number of set pieces that were kind of expected. (Such as, Jack takes on multiple opponents simultaneously and beats them all with apparent ease. Sorry if that's a spoiler.) But there were a couple of twists that were satisfyingly surprising.

Glad I finished it. Apart from anything else, it provided me with a new favourite joke which I'll wrap in a spoiler alert because I know some people get twitchy about revealing anything from a book...

***Spoiler Alert***
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I want to die peacefully in my sleep like Grandpa. Not screaming in terror like his passengers.

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Wednesday 9 May 2018

Review: New X-Men By Grant Morrison Book 2

New X-Men By Grant Morrison Book 2 New X-Men By Grant Morrison Book 2 by Grant Morrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The four stars are for Grant Morrison's writing. The artwork is worth two stars at best. The second installment is particulary poor with an almost unrecognisable Wolverine rendered inconsitently. In contrast to the messy artwork, the dialog and interplay between Wolverine and Angel Salvadore is crisp and clean. Thank you Mr Morrison

I like the U-Men as villans. They present an interesting third way (Third Species?). They are an alternative to welcoming mutants as the next stage in evolution, or hating and reviling them for their difference. The U-Men take a much more pragmatic approach! (Was I alone in singing "I Want To Be Like You" King Louie style as the Third Species approach was expounded?)

The final, largely wordless, section was interesting. My only criticism is the strange neon icon things that appeared to represent telepathic communication between Jean and Emma. I found them unhelpful and confusing. It was, however, a bold concept to rely almost entirely on the pictures to tell the story and it pretty much worked.

Final comment: given Emma Frost's, for want of a better word, "costume", where did the hip flask come from?

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Monday 7 May 2018

Review: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kind of a three and a half stars as the ending let it down. (I think I could have done without the Sunday section at the end.) Went for four in the end because generally I found it interesting and funny in roughly equal measure.

Pratchett's stamp was all over the book but, if the appendix that details of the writing process is to be believed, it was a truly collaborative process. (I'm probably just not familiar enough with Gaiman to spot his fingerprints.) The writers claim they worked hard to make each other laugh and I laughed along with them, for example where they describe a hellhound's first appearance:
"It was already growling, and the growl was a low rumbling snarl of spring-coiled menace, the sort of growl that starts in the back of one throat and ends up in someone else's."
I also liked the "explanation" of the M25!

Now, clearly it is not a work of theology but it does raise interesting theological (and indeed philosophical) issues albeit wrapped in a comic fantasy. Not a great work but definitely great fun.

I'm labelling my final observation as a spoiler because I know some people get a bit twitchy about revealing plot details - not much of a spoiler in my opinion but better safe than spoiler!

***SPOILER ALERT!***
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I read in an appendix that the book started off as a parody of Richmal Crompton's Just William books called William the Antichrist. Adam and the Them, along with Tadfield, suddenly made a lot more sense.

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Review: A Room with a View

A Room with a View A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Read this while on holiday in Florence. Went looking for the Pension Bertolini (it is now a hotel) and many of the other sights described in the book. Loved the city. Loved the book.

It is laugh out loud funny in places. It is the kind of book that on almost every page there's a line you want to share with the people around you. For example, from chapter 1:
"You must have it," said Miss Bartlett, part of whose travelling expenses were paid by Lucy's mother—a piece of generosity to which she made many a tactful allusion.
or
He preferred to talk to Lucy, whose playing he remembered, rather than to Miss Bartlett, who probably remembered his sermons.
and
He is nice," exclaimed Lucy. "Just what I remember. He seems to see good in every one. No one would take him for a clergyman."
I could go on!

It was interesting reading it straight after The Masters of Sitcom: From Hancock to Steptoe. Galton and Simpson may have invented the TV sitcom but so much of the humour in this book comes from the situations that it is clear Galton and Simpson were standing on the shoulders of giants.

Serious issues are addressed: class, sexuality, education, passion, repression... but it is seriously good fun and a seriously good read

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